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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 03:33PM |
I bought this for my MacPro and various peripherals...
[www.amazon.com]
__________________________________
There’s a guy wearing overalls with no shirt.
Which I think we all know is the International uniform for the last guy you’ll ever see.
[www.amazon.com]
__________________________________
There’s a guy wearing overalls with no shirt.
Which I think we all know is the International uniform for the last guy you’ll ever see.
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 03:42PM |
650VA strikes me as waaaay too small. i'd go for at least 1500VA. you have a lot of computer and getting a ups thats too small isn't going to do anything for you.
[www.amazon.com]
The price on that is reasonable AND you can buy an external pack for it which add 2/3s more running time. i waited for a deal for one to pop upon ebay and snagged it for about $60.
Also, the batteries on this ups and the external pack can be easily replaced.
[www.amazon.com]
The price on that is reasonable AND you can buy an external pack for it which add 2/3s more running time. i waited for a deal for one to pop upon ebay and snagged it for about $60.
Also, the batteries on this ups and the external pack can be easily replaced.
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 04:00PM |
Quote
Doc
Your MacPro probably has a 250w power supply.
MacTracker says its 980w.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2008 04:03PM by mattkime.
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 04:20PM |
clay;
Definitely check the specs on the existing one..
If it's never had a battery replacement, and it's an otherwise good model, it would be far cheaper (assuming it's rated for enough ooomph in the first place) to replace the batteries than to buy a new one!
Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
--
--
Eureka, CA
Definitely check the specs on the existing one..
If it's never had a battery replacement, and it's an otherwise good model, it would be far cheaper (assuming it's rated for enough ooomph in the first place) to replace the batteries than to buy a new one!
Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
--
--
Eureka, CA
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 04:30PM |
Your Mac Pro probably pulls about 400 watts when working hard and at least 200 when idle.
650VA won't cover it. You would need 800VA at minimum. 1000, 1200 or 1500 would be better.
650VA won't cover it. You would need 800VA at minimum. 1000, 1200 or 1500 would be better.
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 04:57PM |
Sounds like a good unit from this buyers review:
Aloha, Ken
“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe
Quote
A worthwhile alternative to APC to consider:, October 26, 2008
By Mac Tech "Alan" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
I work as a network technician and have used APC equipment for many years. Their high-end units have always done well for us. For many years, I also used their Smart-UPS brand for my home network needs. As they've become old and had problems, it became more economical to replace them, instead of fixing them, especially, since for my desktops, the industry was moving to USB for signaling, and away from serial ports. My rack still has older 1400 VA SU units using SNMP management cards, but I needed a new desktop solution.
For the past three years, I stuck to APC's consumer products and have been very disappointed. They have more problems than the older units I've grown to love, and because they change models so often, it's harder to find a battery replacement. Plus, they just have a sort of cheapness about them.
With my latest computer purchase, a dual quad Mac Pro, my older 800VA APC just couldn't handle it. So, I decided to try this Cyberpower 1500 and have been very pleased with it, using it for about 2 months so far. The signaling and reported time is more reliable than the APC I was using. Although it should be said, any consumer UPS will not guarantee exact runtimes, load measurements, etc. - For what you are paying for this amount of capacity, some sacrifice must be realized. If you do your calculations correctly, and use it as needed (surges, brown-outs and limited black-outs), these units will fulfill your needs. If you need super accurate measurements and reliable AC power generation, then you should consider a high end unit, such as what APC offers for data centers.
The load reading for this unit, when measured with a Kill-A-Watt is pretty accurate. I like the soft blue lighting with auto-off. I connect my two, 24" LCDs to the APC 800VA unit, and the Cyberpower handles the Mac Pro with three, external FireWire drives with no problems. Testing it, by turning off the circuit breaker (shouldn't pull the cord from the wall), reports about 20 minutes of runtime, which seems about right. I've left it on battery power for about 10 minutes, and the readings remained fairly constant. I live out in the country at the end of our power grid, so I get a lot of "dirty" power. Brown-outs are common, and my larger UPS units have the ability to generate statistical logs each day of the power fluctuation. I feel pretty safe with this unit, and wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one.
Lastly, the software both Cyberpower and APC provides for the Mac OS, is really bad! I prefer to just use the Mac's SysPrefs to configure the UPS settings and leave it at that. Both companies desperately need a re-write of their OS X software.
Aloha, Ken
“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 05:01PM |
Our power went out twice Monday morning, the older APC unit that my Mac is connected to did not keep the computer on. Not only that it didn't even sound the alarm that the power had failed!
I switched it out for another unit and left it plugged in to the wall with a digital clock plugged into it just to see what was going on.
This morning the alarm started beeping like crazy (even thought the power was on) and when I went to check on it the "Replace Battery" light is lit! Huh lotta good that circuitry did....
Aloha, Ken
“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe
I switched it out for another unit and left it plugged in to the wall with a digital clock plugged into it just to see what was going on.
This morning the alarm started beeping like crazy (even thought the power was on) and when I went to check on it the "Replace Battery" light is lit! Huh lotta good that circuitry did....
Aloha, Ken
“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe
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Re: what size UPS for my mac pro? Date: October 30, 2008 08:26PM |
Quote
N-OS X-tasy!
Quote
Harbourmaster
Sounds like a good unit from this buyers review:Quote
A worthwhile alternative to APC to consider:, October 26, 2008
By Mac Tech "Alan" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
I work as a network technician and have used APC equipment for many years. Their high-end units have always done well for us. For many years, I also used their Smart-UPS brand for my home network needs. As they've become old and had problems, it became more economical to replace them, instead of fixing them, especially, since for my desktops, the industry was moving to USB for signaling, and away from serial ports. My rack still has older 1400 VA SU units using SNMP management cards, but I needed a new desktop solution.
For the past three years, I stuck to APC's consumer products and have been very disappointed. They have more problems than the older units I've grown to love, and because they change models so often, it's harder to find a battery replacement. Plus, they just have a sort of cheapness about them.
With my latest computer purchase, a dual quad Mac Pro, my older 800VA APC just couldn't handle it. So, I decided to try this Cyberpower 1500 and have been very pleased with it, using it for about 2 months so far. The signaling and reported time is more reliable than the APC I was using. Although it should be said, any consumer UPS will not guarantee exact runtimes, load measurements, etc. - For what you are paying for this amount of capacity, some sacrifice must be realized. If you do your calculations correctly, and use it as needed (surges, brown-outs and limited black-outs), these units will fulfill your needs. If you need super accurate measurements and reliable AC power generation, then you should consider a high end unit, such as what APC offers for data centers.
The load reading for this unit, when measured with a Kill-A-Watt is pretty accurate. I like the soft blue lighting with auto-off. I connect my two, 24" LCDs to the APC 800VA unit, and the Cyberpower handles the Mac Pro with three, external FireWire drives with no problems. Testing it, by turning off the circuit breaker (shouldn't pull the cord from the wall), reports about 20 minutes of runtime, which seems about right. I've left it on battery power for about 10 minutes, and the readings remained fairly constant. I live out in the country at the end of our power grid, so I get a lot of "dirty" power. Brown-outs are common, and my larger UPS units have the ability to generate statistical logs each day of the power fluctuation. I feel pretty safe with this unit, and wouldn't hesitate to purchase another one.
Lastly, the software both Cyberpower and APC provides for the Mac OS, is really bad! I prefer to just use the Mac's SysPrefs to configure the UPS settings and leave it at that. Both companies desperately need a re-write of their OS X software.
Joke's on him -- if what I've heard about them is correct, CyberPower is an APC-owned company that sells older APC technology.
EDIT: Or maybe that's what makes it better!
Incorrect, the APC owned company is Conext, [www.conextproducts.com], and is down to selling just two models, 750 VA and 950 VA units. CyberPower is independent of APC.
P.S. You may want to do more than double the watts used to calculate the VA to buy. Typically, the watt rating of an UPS for electronics use is rated at about 60-65% of the VA rating. So a 1000 VA UPS can handle about 650 W. Generally consumer level UPS's have little peak capacity above that figure. The Mac Pro may have a PS rated at up to 980 W maximum, you would have to hook up to a meter to see waht your actual maximum draw was with all disks, etc. active.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2008 08:35PM by JoeH.
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